Director of Engineering, Upstart

• 12+ years of software engineering experience, with 7+ years in engineering leadership roles
• Proven success leading and scaling high-performing engineering teams, including managing other managers
• Deep experience building large-scale, cloud-based distributed systems, ideally in fintech, pricing, or ML-based product environments
• Strong understanding of modern software engineering practices, microservice architectures, and CI/CD
• Hands-on experience with cloud technologies (AWS, GCP, or Azure), containerization (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes), and scalable API design
• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to influence technical and non-technical audiences, including executive leadership
• Strong analytical, organizational, and strategic thinking skills with a bias for action

Desirable

• The Pricing team is responsible for building a best-in-class underwriting platform to quickly and accurately create loan offers for all of Upstart’s loan products like Personal Loans, Auto loans and Home loans
• The services owned by the team are responsible for validating applicant data, interfacing with Machine Learning models to calculate borrower risk, and calculating interest rates, fees, etc
• . We are developing new capabilities for Upstart’s loan products and building a next generation software platform to accelerate innovation on behalf of our customers
• As a Director of Engineering, you will define and drive the long-term vision for our pricing systems
• In this highly visible role, you’ll partner with leaders across Product, Machine Learning, Compliance, and Operations to ensure pricing is not just an engine for growth, but also a strategic differentiator for Upstart
• You’ll lead multiple engineering teams, set a high bar for excellence, and shape the culture that empowers our engineers to innovate at scale
• Set Vision and Strategy: Define and communicate the long-term strategy for the pricing platform, ensuring alignment with company objectives, evolving regulatory standards, and customer needs
• Build and Scale Teams: Grow and mentor a high-performing, diverse engineering team and an effective management layer. Foster a culture of accountability, technical rigor, customer-centric thinking, and continuous improvement
• Drive Technical Excellence: Guide architectural decisions and oversee the delivery of scalable, fault-tolerant infrastructure that accelerates pricing innovation and simplifies compliance
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Collaborate with Product, ML, Infrastructure, Compliance, Legal, and Analytics leaders to drive cohesive execution. Act as a thought partner and technical advisor to senior stakeholders across the company
• Operational Execution: Establish processes and metrics that ensure high-quality, timely delivery. Drive clarity across multiple workstreams and proactively identify and manage technical and organizational risks. Ensure pricing systems are reliable, performant, and compliant, while enabling faster iteration of ML-driven products
• Influence Organizational Outcomes: Shape engineering-wide practices and contribute to Upstart's broader technology strategy as a senior member of the Engineering leadership team